Eshan Pieris first Sri Lankan to win F3 Race

Friday, 1 March 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Eshan Pieris once again did Sri Lanka proud winning the final race in the inaugural Asian Winter Series (AWS) held this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit Malaysia. The win was even more impressive given that this was Eshan’s first season in the F3 category.

Eshan Pieris

Driving for Absolute Racing, Eshan got off to a great start qualifying second for the first race of the weekend. He kept up this great run by posting the fifth best time in the second qualifying session.

Saturday morning’s opening race, unfortunately, saw Eshan taken out of the race after an aggressive overtaking attempt by an opponent while running in sixth. Later in the day Race 8 saw him starting from sixth on the grid, he went on to avoid all kinds of hazards to finish fifth overall, equalling his best result in the series and being the best-placed Asian based driver in this race.

The last race of the season, saw Eshan make a good start from fifth on the grid to move up to second, but lost this position to team mate Ye Yifei in the second lap. Ye Yifei and Australian Jack Doohan then battled for supremacy when in lap 11 the two cars collided and Ye was forced to retire.

Following the leaders closely all the way, Eshan capitalised from their collision to take his maiden win in the series. He crossed the line more than two seconds clear of second place.

Speaking after the event Eshan said, “It feels amazing to win on a grid with such competitive drivers. I couldn’t be happier with this result as well as all the progress made during the weekend including my best qualifying performance ever in this series. The car was amazing all thanks to Absolute Racing – a team I am proud and privileged to be a part of! Many thanks also to my manager Aaron Lim as well as my parents for always supporting me. This win also goes out to all my supporters, particularly those back home in Sri Lanka who have been backing me all the way.”

Fabien Fior, Team Director Absolute Racing added, “Eshan’s improvement over the AWS season has been hugely impressive and today’s win shows all his potential.”

The new season of the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA kicks off on April 6/7 at Sepang, Malaysia. In its second season, the five-event Asian championship will also visit FIA Grade 1 race tracks in Thailand, Japan and China, with three races at each round between April and September next year.